Fall Into Ascension: Blood Tainted Path
by cups123
Summary: Isaac, the hero of the original Golden Sun, begins to question the actions of the Wise One. Refusing to accept its decisions simply because of its godlike status, he journeys to find the answers to his many questions, no matter what the price
1. The Resolve

**Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun...**

sure it's lame, but i like things to be simple.

**Chapter 1: The Resolve  
**

_ A night sky shrouded in smoke, the wind blew once more giving birth to the dancing flames that scorched the town. My sight covered with blood and my ears filled with the scornful cries of the townspeople, I chuckled at them as they began realize their own helplessness. At the very heart of the massacre, I watched them abandon everything they once taught among themselves: justice, kindness, mercy, and everything they proudly claimed they stood for. Now, before my deathly gaze and my sword tainted with their blood, they ran for their lives carrying with them as much valuables as their strength permitted and leaving behind their wounded friends with whom they've spent their lives around. Though my own heart was blackened and cold, the sight of it still sickened me so much that it hurt. I thought to myself that people like them don't deserve to live, that I was going to dye this town red with their blood and let the fear in their eyes and the cries of their death tend to my wounded heart. Tightening my grip on the hilt of my blade, I cocked a malicious grin and allowed my instincts to flow free. I desired for a crimson night._

Everyone had underestimated his resolve. No matter how hard he tried to express himself to his friends, given his reputation, his claims only fueled more laughter and childish giggles. It was hard for them to accept the idea that the Isaac, who first started the entire journey to shape the destiny of Weyard and Alchemy, would grow tired of peace and tranquility and in turn set off to find answers to many questions that ran continued to through his head. At first he thought he could deal with the curiosity and that it would subside over time. To his surprise however, time only added to his curiosity and more and more thoughts formed in his head. Eventually simple harmless everyday questions slowly evolved into more well-though, complex questions that involved much deep thinking, self exploring, and awareness of the surroundings. Ultimately, he even questioned the actions of the Wise One itself.

The numerous questions that lacked answers, the friends whose unyielding trust in him left him unable to rely on anyone but himself, the excitement of traveling around Weyard once more compared to that of leading an uneventful life in the peaceful town of Vale, and the desire to shape his own destiny instead of leaving it in the hands of the Wise One; these reasons are why he had left Vale discreetly leaving only a note to his parents. But unbeknownst to him, the reasons that he had formed in his head were mostly in part due to the power of the Mars Star that amplified both his physical and mental growth.

Sitting atop the pile of rubbles that remained of the town, Isaac surveyed the destruction he had caused the night before. The town that was only recently built was so horribly wrecked that even the land upon which it was built was ruined. He had leveled the entire landscape. Not a single building or structure of any sort had survived his fury. The fallen hero hopped off the rubbles and landed on his two feet, which caused a large amount of dust to spread outward away from where he stood. Slowly he lifted his right hand and gathered a great amount of psynergy. As his hand glowed a brilliant gold, he unleashed a huge earthquake that began to swallow the entire town whole. Every trace of the town's existence would be swallowed up as well. Isaac looked around the town one last time as everything around him continued to sink and gave a look of disgust.

He was mad at himself. There was barely a hint of red anywhere. The crimson night he desired never came to be. The human heart of his still prevented him from taking any lives. It was this conscience of his former self that he despised. He thought his resolve would allow him to break himself of the morals he grew up believing in, that his desire to take control of his own life could not be stopped merely by the guilt he felt when the time came to finally take away a human life. No, instead his pitiful resolve only brought him far enough to ruin their homes and scar his own name forever without regret. As the last bit of rubble was buried far underneath the surface of the earth, he hoped that his weakness and hesitation would be buried along with it.

_ I had him backed against a wall. The poor, weak, and pathetic peasant who was trembling from head to toe and pressed against the wall of his own house could not even muster the courage to beg for his life. As I raised my most treasured sword: Excalibur, blood slowly streaming down its blade, I closed my eyes and spent a short moment to mentally prepare myself for what's to come. It was time I take a step forward and claim an innocent life - something I had never knowingly done before. Just as I opened my eyes and focused on my prey, the terror of death had gotten the best of him as he sank to the ground in despair. The veins in his eyes were so visible and so numerous, tears flowed down his cheeks, and his iris reflected that of my once brilliant sword dyed in a dark red. Behind all that though, I saw so much fear that it was as if he was staring into the face of the grim reasper himself. To my surprise, fear was actually all that I was able to see. The greed that everyone had in their eyes as they scurried away had disappeared from this man. _

_ I wondered to myself if the extreme fear of death itself was the only thing capable of washing away the greed that coursed through every human heart. If that was what it took to wipe the greed away, was it worth it? The terrified person before me has been reduced to sitting motionlessly as the fear of death ate away at his mind. It was almost as if he was in a vegetative state. He no longer trembled, he no longer cried, instead he just sat there too afraid to move, too afraid to speak, too afraid to even look at me. He was an eyesore. I felt as if he didn't even deserve the escape to death. I looked once again to my Excalibur stained with blood. Although the sight of it gave me a false sense of satisfaction for being a cold hearted killer, the inescapable truth of the matter is that the blood came only from light wounds I inflicted upon the guards of the town. Looking back down at the cowardly figure, I felt there was no sense in taking his life. He wasn't even worth killing anymore in that paralyzed state of his. Unlike a real demon, I did not lust for the sight of blood nor did I savor its taste. _

Having buried the town beneath the surface, Isaac turned around and slowly walked away. He draped his torn cloak over his shoulders and looked back at where the town was once last time. "Pathetic." he whispered to himself with a great sadness in his now glimmering eyes. As he took a deep breath and considered the events of the night before, he started to question his own actions. Was what he desired worth inflicting so much pain and misery among the people he once risked his life for? Should he quit before it's too late and live for the sake of the world rather than himself? Would he end up having to cross swords with his best friends? There was a serious doubt in the very corner of his mind that was telling him that he had been led astray. Yet another part of him, a much larger and almost forceful foreign part, urged him to continue to walk down the path of blood.

Isaac looked to the sky and among the clouds he saw the face of a man whom he now realizes is much more deserving of life than himself and yet he took it away with his own two hands: Saturos. A great man who journeyed around the world for the sake of his friends, Saturos laid down his own life to light the beacon atop the mars lighthouse in order to save his town. It wasn't just Saturos either. His companions: Menardi, Karst, and Agatio all fought for the sake of their loved ones and had their lives taken away as well. The Wise One had sent Isaac on a journey to unknowingly claim four innocent lives as if he was saving Weyard from destruction. Those memories were scarred into him, burned into the deep depths of his mind by their smiles of satisfaction, and even now it continues to haunt him in his dreams and occasionally during his wake. Had he realized the facts sooner, the four of them could've been friends - great friends.

Kraden had once told Isaac that the Wise One is a being that they mortals can not possibly comprehend. According to him, the Wise One had indeed a good reason for making Isaac, Felix, and their companions do what they did. But the excuse that it "works in mysterious ways" was no good enough for Isaac. Not nearly enough after all that he had to put up with. Every day Isaac would sit down and relive the nightmares again, trying to figure out what went wrong, why he had to be so stubborn, why he didn't ask their reasons for attempting to unleash Alchemy into the world, or even why they bothered to go out of their way to spare lives if what they really wanted to do was destroy Weyard. He never once gave it a thought until it was too late. The fact that the Wise One had sent him on the quest for reasons incomprehensible to humans didn't help ease the pain. The facts remain that it was under his leadership that they were forced to a halt, it was under his ignorance that they fought, and it was under his blade that they lost their lives. For the answers to his anguish, he would continue down the path he now walks, fully aware of the violence that will ensue, because until the, his mind will never be at ease even in death.

Er, i didn't really intend to end the chapter here, but due to the lack of time, i had to cut my first chapter short. bummer XD


	2. Conflicts

well i'd like to thank ppl for reviewing this and all that. but if you're feeling lazy cough spirit cough you don't have to bother cuz i just write up this crap when i have too much time to kill. i just do it mostly for myself anyways. if i really wanted reviews, i'd go for one of those weird humor/parody things everyone seem to love reviewing so much.

**Chapter 2: Conflicts **

As the day approached its end, there was a beautiful blend of red and yellow in the sky that swirled towards the horizon. The grass that was so green with life and nutrient swayed back and forth in the wind, gradually changing to reflect the color of the sky. As he walked down this path dyed lightly with a royal red, Isaac came to a stop to survey his surroundings. He was standing somewhere lost within a huge meadow that expanded beyond the far reaches of his sight. There was no end in any direction and the only guide he had was the swirl of colors that followed the sun as it descended. Soon it would all disappear and he will be lost once more until the stars lit the way again.

"..off you beasts!" came a sudden scream from a fair distance away. It was very faint that he missed a few words, but Isaac heard enough to know that it was the voice of a middle aged man, most likely in peril given the tone and the context of his speech. Had the wind blown any harder, his scream would've been deafened by the continous soft fluttering whispers of the grass. With inhuman speed, Isaac quickly dashed over the source of the voice and found himself staring at what seemed to be a fight. Backed against a huge rock, a group of five had their weapons drawn in front of them as they stared off against a pack of wild wolves. In the middle, Isaac saw the one who had yelled earlier. He was the eldest of the group - probably somewhere in the mid-40's. Dressed in an exposing iron suit of armor covered in dirt and decorated with rust, he swung his huge wooden axe around in wide arcs trying to provoke the wolves into fleeing. "I said back off, you foul wolves!" he screamed as he swung his axe again.

Three of them were young men dressed in similar attires and brandished their swords as well. They seem to be followers even though it was clear that they're much more capable as far as fighting goes relative to the older man. Then behind them stood a young girl, a stunning blonde approximately his age adorned in a rather beautiful silky white dress that went from the tip of her shoulders to her knees. The dress itself was sleeveless and had slits on the side up just past her thighs, showing much cleavage and the amazing curves she had. Though the sight of her had left his jaw hanging open, what really struck Isaac the most were her extremely unique and beautiful eyes that seemed to reflect everything like mirrors. The royal colors of the setting sun circled the edges of her iris, but Isaac saw that towards her pupils an image of himself and the slight bit of darkness that loomed over him. Quickly he shifted his glance towards the sky directly above him. It had become dark. For a second there, he had thought the darkness was representative of him somehow, but felt relieved that it was merely the coming of the night sky and nothing more.

Isaac felt his sense return to him and surveyed the situtation; four men protecting a young girl against a pack of wolves that outnumber them five to one. He didn't know what to do. "Should I help them or not?" he mentally asked himself as he continued to stare at the two side. The humans were sweating quite a bit, most likely from fear of death while the wolves on the other hand are growling fiercely and drooling from the anticipation of a long awaited meal. He wondered in confusion, "why didn't the girl ask him for help if she saw him?" He knew she was looking at him, because he was able to see his own reflection in her eyes.

It was a problem for Isaac that he doesn't even know his own values or beliefs anymore since the day he tried to do away with his past. Even if he wanted to help, he didn't know which side to help. "What gave the humans more right to live than any other creatures born in nature?" he started to wondered, "what determines who gets to live and who will to die? Is it really the survival of the fittest?"

The wolves slowly approached their prey, being very cautious in each step they take as the men hopelessly continued trying to fend them off. If they had on tougher suits of armor, things would be different for them. The wolves wouldn't be able to even scratch them. But as they are, their suits of armor are nothing more than a layer of extra thick skin. Naturally, Isaac reacted by putting his hand over the hilt of his sword as always, ready to jump in there and save some lives, except his time, he hesitated. He felt that he had no right to decide the fate of the two groups. To save the humans, he would have to kill off the wolves. If he didn't act however, it was likely the humans would die. "Is this something that should be left up to fate?" he quietly asked no one in particular, giving his own question much thought. He fought for so long trying to bring about world peace and justice to the world of Weyard. But this "world peace" and "justice" applies only to the human race. Even if people were to live in harmony, the other creatures of mother nature would not be able to find the same peace and harmony in the "justice" that Isaac once wanted to bring about. Real peace and justice should be something that's offered to - though not limited to, all living things.

As Isaac continued to stare at the conflict however, the wolves only wanting to eat regardless of who the person was and the humans who would slay all the wolves if they had the strenght in order to save themselves, he realized that real peace and justice has probably always been something impossible to achieve. As they draw closer, the ferocity of either sides grew and the intent to kill to survive becomes even more apparent. Just as they were about to clash, the older man with the axe spotted Isaac with his hand over what seems to be an exceptionally designed hilt that most likely meant a blade of incredible power is sheathed away at his waist. "You there! You seem to be a fine swordsman. Can you lend us a hand, lad?" he yelled.

Hesitating a bit but finding it hard to deny a request such as this, Isaac approached them unsheathing his blade to reveal the magnificence of the fabled Exaclibur that seemed to shine even in the darkness. "To shine in the darkness..." he thought as he looked into his blade. Those words rang in his head a few times. He wondered if he'll ever be able to do what his blade does - that is, not to dispell the darkness no matter how dim things may seem, but to be able to stand tough to his own values should he ever find them and stick to them even if surrounded by a sea of disagreement and disgruntled looks. But the blade's greatness didn't end there. Instead of being ridiculed for its boldness to shine alone, it's difference is what made it look even more glorified and divine.

The wolves with their sharp beastly instincts sensed an immense danger that reeked from the blade. They knew they had no chance had they been forced to fight against something like that. It would be completely one-sided. Though it pained them to have to retreat, they knew when they had to run and slowly backed away. Isaac looked at the wolves as they stepped back and saw in their eyes a faint glimmer of depression and deprivation. Then it struck him again. Who was he to deprive them of their hunt for food? He's never even lifted a finger to stop humans from killing animals for food. Did he favor them just because he too is human?

His hands began to shake in confusion and indecisiveness and his head began to hurt until it became unbearable. For an instant he felt as if he was about to pass out from the pain and discomfort. The intense feelings knocked him over the edge and sent his mind burning as he raised Excalibur with both hands and stabbed deep into the earth and hearing a wail of agony, perhaps from the deep depths of the earth where the essence of all his victims from the past exist only to witness his demise. Upon stabbing through the soft layers of grass and dirt, a huge shockwave came from the sword followed by a blinding light that completely enveloped him. "What would you have done, Felix?" Isaac whispered with his last ounce of strenght. Once it was all over, everyone was unconscious and the whole place became dead silent. One would've thought the area had been abandoned for years and left in nature's care allowing for exceptional growth and beauty as if it were a paradise.

* * *

It was the night of a new moon. Without the luminescent glow of the lunar reflection in the sky, Weyard became exceptionally dark. Deep within the forest of trees and shadows that danced, there was a glow of red and a fire that burned brightly with pride. Felix sighed and rested his head against the hard dried trunk of a barren tree. It had been two days since he left Vale with Jenna and Garet. After hearing that Isaac had been leaving nothing but a trail of blood and destruction behind wherever he passed through, Felix found himself left with no choice but to pursue him - though that was just an excuse. Deep down, the three of them really wanted to see him again, to find out why he had lef them, and in the best case scenario, get him to return to Vale with them though that seemed impossible. Felix stared into the fire as it continued to burn and found himself staring into a burning translucent image of his best friend standing there with a proud grin on his face. "Damn it, Isaac. What am I suppose to do with you?" he thought to himself feeling like he's been backed into a corner with no way out but to fight.

Felix shifted his gaze over to where Janne lied asleep on the soft patch of dirt about three feet away. Hands gently clasped together and rolled over to her side, she rested her soft peachy cheek on her hands and had her knees bent drawing her legs in towards her. From where he rested, she looked like a little innocent child curled up into a ball with that sweet happy little smile she had on her face for reasons unknown to him. Felix chuckled to himself.

"Too bad she only seems sweet." Felix's face softened a little as he continued to stare at his little sister. "I wonder how she would react if I were forced to beat some sense into Isaac." he thought. "If I don't however," Felix's gaze shifted over to Garet, "I would be breaking a promise I made to him." he whispered with great sadness in his eyes.

Garet was another problem as well. Like in Jenna's case, Felix wasn't sure what he would do if they had to forcibly put a stop to Isaac. Though Garet's not very smart, considerate, or thoughtful, his faith in his best friend is without a doubt unyielding and perhaps his strongest point. If they clashed swords with Isaac, there's always the possibility that he would refuse to do it or subconsciously go easy on him.

Felix imagined many scenarios that could happen. He could be charging at Isaac with his Sol blade and there Jenna and Garet would be, stopping him in his tracks. Sometimes he wonders if that's the reason they tagged along in the first place. He let out another sigh in realization of how hopeless everything seems. "No, I have to be more optimistic. There's no hope if there's no faith" he quickly told himself. "Things will turn out better than I think."

Suddenly a huge gust of wind blew across putting an end to the fire that engulfed him in light and away from the darkness. A moment of silence followed before Felix closed his eyes and crossed his arms in defeat. "A guy should at least be allowed to lie to himself." he grumbled before going to sleep.

_There he was, soaring high into the sky with his Sol blade calling out to the heavenly skies and bringing forth a great meteor under his control while his opponent was gasping for air as he clung onto the hilt of his blade stabbed into the ground for support. Weakly, Isaac held up his rusty Excalibur that had gone dull from the blood of countless lives in a desperate attempt to fend of the incredible impact that was about to send him into oblivion. Indeed, Isaac's efforts were in vain as Felix sent the meteor crashing down upon him causing a huge explosion and leaving behind a cloud of smoke. He had finally won. Isaac was defeated. _

_Feeling at ease when he saw Isaac was still in one piece, he was just about to go pick him up and bring him back to Vale when he felt a chill so cold, it had literally frozen him in his tracks. It was like the world had gone cold and everything was covered in a layer of ice. Felix felt like he was in the middle of a new Ice Age, except this was much more extreme, extreme to the point where Weyard has turned blue. The air was frozen with a bluish glow and even time itself was no exception. Everywhere was silent, everything was motionless and Felix felt a gaze so cold that even covered his spine in ice. _

_At this point, he was terrified. Slowly, he turned around and found himself staring straight into the glacial eyes of terror. They were icy blue and just staring at them made him sweat even in the frozen world. There before him stood the angelic and forgiving Water Adept, Mia who was smiling at him with her usual kind smile. Yet despite that, behind that smile and the beautiful soft icy blue eyes of hers was the very source of the coldness - her burning desire to deal him a fate worse than death. _

_"Felix," she called to him sweetly, "come here for a second." Gently and smoothly, she raised her staff, forming an incredible glacial spear that was big enough to piece him and split him into pieces. Felix sensed in her a danger that far surpassed any threat Isaac could've been. Now he was dealing with the wrath of a girl with a broken heart. He felt his time was up as the spear was sent shooting at him with incredible speed when it suddenly paused right in front of him, inches away from his face. _

_For a short instance, he thought his life had been spared with suddenly, half the frozen world was defrosted and in its place was a burning world filled with death and anger. Fire coursed through the air and smoke clouded the world. Felix felt a rage that rivaled that of Mia's, but it was one that burned through to even his soul instead of freezing him physically and mentally. "Jenna" he thought as he saw the figure of his own little sister from behind all the smoke. Trapped in the boundary that splitted the world between ice and fire, he mentally cursed as Isaac for being so lucky to have been beaten senseless. This place he was stuck in where the explosive swirls of anger and wrath of two girls collided made hell seem like paradise. _

Felix woke up opening his reddened eyes wide with terror, sweating and panting for breath. He looked over to Jenna where she was still peacefully sleeping with the same happy smile on her face. "It was just a dream..." he felt relieved at the thought. Felix looked around in the darkness for a while waiting for his heart to calm down. "There went a couple years of my life. Now I guess I can't even dream what I want." he grumbled once again before heading back to sleep. "How am I going to deal with you, Isaac?" he thought one last time.

er..to be continued i guess...P


	3. Field of Lost Innocence

Well what can I say? I'm surprised I typed this up. I seems lately I have a habit of quitting after chapter 2…

..but alas! I did not quit this time!

. . just delayed for a month or two…

and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you ppl think. It's something I'm strongly against. "thinking" is something that's always been against my very nature (well it is when I'm in school anyways) so I apologize for that.

…I like this chapter title! XD

**Chapter 3: Field of Lost Innocence. **

_It was raining…just like five years ago when the great disaster was unleashed upon Vale - except this time it was raining black blood._

_People were running and screaming in a sad attempt to evacuate everyone to safety while a few brave and capable souls stayed behind to hold back a threat created from the highest tiers of the heavens. _

_I watched them struggle hopelessly against the great beast born from power and enveloped in a satanic aura of overwhelming black psynergy. "A beast of the heavens…" I said through squinted eyes, feeling every fiber in my body reacting to the evil aura that the beast gave off, "...or perhaps, an apparition of the underworlds?" It was like my entire body was being attracted to it and the look in the eyes of the being told me the feeling was mutual. "We desire for each other." I thought to myself as it raised its black enchanted arms and danced them in circular paths with such grace and beauty that I couldn't help but watch in awe of the deathly fluid movements that neither conjured nor gathered, but rather sailed on the flow of psynergy that swirled about and released upon those foolishly bold humans some kind of enveloping dark spell - one filled with anguish and hate. "A deity is no mere boulder," I told them as they blinked once last time before being enveloped in a dark aura that hungrily devoured the light.  
…_

"What happened?" Isaac asked waking up from his sleep. He remained still, searching through his mind, trying to recollect his memories as he lay in the soft patch of grass that tickled his nose whenever they swayed. He wondered what he was doing lying down in the middle of nowhere as he stared at the scenery, taking a particular liking to the darkness of the night for some odd reason. Then, as if provoked by some unseen force, he inhaled deeply and relished the smell of the fresh meadow air and felt something inside him slightly tingle and brought about a hint of a smile. He didn't know exactly what it was, but it was a comfortable, welcoming, and familiar feeling that he's experienced so many times. _"It's been so long that I've almost forgotten this feeling."_ he thought to himself narrowing his eyes to briefly reminisce about his past and allowing a deep sadness to wash over his face.

The vast emptiness of the sky that seemed to go on without end served to further ease his mind and lighten his solitude until he noticed a faint scent of blood in the air and glanced over at where a battle was brewing earlier. It all came back to him - the reason he was laying there, the people who were being attacked, the wolves who had cornered their preys, and his own mental weakness that could not bear the responsibility of deciding their fates. They were all doing only what needed to be done in order to desperately cling onto their short, fragile, and undeniably shameless lives. But now they were all lying there motionless and covered in dirt with surprisingly peaceful looks on their faces.

"Where could it have all gone?" Isaac asked as he picked himself up and standing next to the Excalibur that still pierced the earth. He looked around and couldn't find or sense any traces of them. "All that desire to live and the killing intents that foresaw death seemed to have vanished without a trace." In his sudden burst of rage, Isaac had unintentionally knocked everyone out cold and yet they looked happy despite the pain they must've felt when he sent that tremendous shockwave out at them. "For Death itself to be beckoned here only to be interrupted by me and end up being cast away in a wave of joy like this…It can't be good for my health," Isaac sadly concluded and let out a sigh.

"But to achieve peace through violence..." Isaac changed back to a more serious tone and straightened his face back to the recent cold and emotionless look he always wore, "it can't be right, can it?" He somberly questioned the blade that had cut through so many hordes of monsters alongside him, "Is that the only answer to our problems? Is it the nature of the living to prey on one another? The strong hunting the weak and the weak running from their fated demise...until upon death when they finally find peace?"

He looked over at the bodies again. "Does this mean," he paused for a bit to draw his sword out from the ground and hold it up in front of him, "that I should slay them all and put an end to this? Is it our role in this world to feed off their weakness and spill their blood, Excalibur?"

When he glanced at them gently sleeping on the ground and then at the girl with a serene smile on her face as she breathed light breaths and snuggled her cheeks against the soil, her innocence making her seem as if she'd spent her whole life happily, pure, and untainted. Without another thought, he lowered his sword, "W-what if...I don't want to?" he asked. He wanted to believe that this peacefulness was their natural state, and that something else had interfered with nature's creations and set them against each other, a force that had existed since the moment chaos came into existence. Unfortunately, deep down, Isaac knew it was just wishful thinking. Chuckling to himself at how pathetic he's become, he started to head back to the path he strayed from earlier. This encounter revealed to him that fate isn't the only thing that can decide the future of others, for he too can make a difference with his strength.

"This time however," Isaac whispered in the wind as he looked over his shoulders to sneak one last glance at the girl and the blood dripping down her chin, "…I leave your future in your own hands." That said, he turned back and pressed forth towards his first of probably many destinations with high hopes that he'll find at least some traces of what he seeks, reminding him of the days when he pursued Saturos and Menardi in hopes of saving his friends and fulfilling his promise to the Wise One. _"Why? Why didn't you tell me, Saturos? Our fight could've been avoided and you wouldn't have…and Karst wouldn't have followed. Or was it something else? Could he have seen saw what Kraden knew all along? – That I was only capable of doing what the world tells me I should?"_ He paused for a moment when a thought crossed his mind._ "The Wise One must've known it too. If there's really such a thing as destiny or fate, then Saturos and Menardi must've been pawns to be sacrificed for my sake, my growth, as well as my friends. If only I hadn't been so naive, I could've defied fate…and none of them would've died..." _

Though he wasn't sure yet, it seemed to him like a possibility. That was just one more reason he needs to reach Imil, hopefully before the rage and anger he felt growing inside poison his logics and swallow his ability to reason.

"If Excalibur wasn't here with me shining its light and protecting me with its divine strength, I may have long succumbed to the darkness," he said. As he finished his sentence, he felt the word "darkness" linger around his mind, pulsate to the beat of his heart, innocently call out to him, entice him to draw upon its unfathomable powers that humans feared so greatly throughout history.

Slowly, he felt his mind give out yet again, but this time, it was his consciousness that was lured into slumber rather than being forced into it. _"Damn it, not again…"_

_

* * *

_

"So, where are we again?" Garet asked looking around. "I'm getting tired of this place. Everywhere you look is nothing but grass! How are we supposed to find Isaac like this?"

Jenna shook her head. "We don't have much of a choice, Garet. That big white flash we saw earlier was the only clue we have to where he is."

"But that was like three hours ago!" he retorted. "By now, he could be anywhere! He might not even –"he paused when he saw Jenna's friendly eyes turn into those that precedes a world of pain and suffering. "…Sure, whatever. Ignore me," he muttered under his breath.

Felix, who had been ignoring them both since he woke, kept silent, his eyes fixed to where he believed to be the origin of the flash of light. They had been walking endlessly, lost in the sea of greenery with absolutely no distinguishing landmarks.

"What's up with this place anyways? It really is kind of strange, isn't it, Felix? I don't really remember ever having been in a place like this before," Jenna asked looking to her brother.

Felix turned to look at his sister, at her big round eyes she always had whenever she was curious, her lips that would protrude slightly making a noticeable frown and her head that would tilt to the side as if she were but a child – it was her "totally clueless" look. "Does it surprise you, Jenna?" he asked to her surprise.

"I just thought that we've been pretty much everywhere already. We've talked to many explorers and heard many stories at the inns, we've sailed to the far corners of Weyard, saw the great Gaia Falls with our own eyes…So why is there such a mysterious field of grass here that I've never even seen or heard of before?"

Felix remained silent for a bit. He didn't want to leave his sister hanging like this, but he knew if he told her, chances are that she and Garet would make a big fuss and they don't really have the luxury of time to spare – least of all for complaining. _"But knowing Jenna, she'd squeeze the answer out of me if she had to,"_ he mentally told himself and let out a sigh in defeat.

"The reason this area is unknown to most of the world is because most people who enter it don't make it back out alive." he answered with little smile hoping it would help prevent his sister from going ballistic. "Funny, isn't it? There aren't many monsters around here and the ones are do dwell in this place are relatively weak and easy to handle, and yet people still manage to die so often. Ehehehehe…" he tried laughing it off and felt a drop of sweat streaming down his face as he gazed at his sister's emotionless face. "Plus this place isn't really all that big. We'll be out of this place by tomorrow night if we keep walking at the rate we're going now."

"But…if we can cross this place in less than two days and there's hardly any monster threat, what do they all die from?" she asked. It was times like these Felix is glad his sister is a bit of a tomboy. A place with suspiciously high casualties such as this doesn't faze her at all.

"You know, she's got a point there, Felix," Garet added, "we've been here for hours already and we haven't come across a single monster. Not even a little slime. Nothing. This endless field of grass is starting to drive me nuts!"

Felix shook his head. "It's not that simple. The grasses that grow here were planted back during the days before Alchemy was sealed. It was a time when psynergy was much more prevalent in the world. This area we're standing in used to be the dwelling of a group of thirteen sorcerers who excelled at all four Elements. They prided themselves on their numerous and impressive abilities – though they pale in comparison to the ones our Djinns grant us. However, it was thought that one day while practicing, they all suddenly perished due to some mysterious reason – most likely over-exertion."

"…Over-exertion? I'd say that's a pretty dumb way to die," Garet said. "Sorcerers are supposed to be smart – at least that's how it goes in story books."

"They most likely lost control of their powers," Felix explained. "The higher the level of the spell, the more concentration it takes to control. Alchemy, while provides us with powers beyond the physical boundaries, will also erode the minds of those who attempt to conjure more power than they can handle. In their case, they probably met their ends in an attempt to further themselves through Alchemy, to evolve into higher life forms or something of the sort."

"What's that got to do with people dying? You don't mean to tell me there are ghosts floating around at night, do you?" Jenna asked looking around nervously.

"They say that the bodies of the thirteen sorcerers were later found to have been mostly buried and completely drained of psynergy – as if the very land upon which they perished had devoured them alive. The grass that was grown here supposedly started to feed on the remorseful and restless souls of those sorcerers absorbed into the land. Since that day, not a single blade of grass has ever withered away until when Alchemy was deemed too great a threat and sealed up. When that happened, this entire field perished and return to dirt, so no one in the recent centuries even know of its existence. Instead it was documented in ancient hieroglyphs like those found in Lemuria."

"And when we released the seal on Alchemy, this grass field came back to life…" Jenna finished for him. "But that still doesn't explain why people would die just by being in this place. In fact, it sounds more like one of those eternal life types of place."

"The grass here lives eternally because they feed on the life force of the creatures that dwell here. I would guess just standing around like this is shortening our lifespan," Felix regretted to tell them as their eyes flash wide, "but the real reason they die is because the constant swaying of these grass have the unique ability to deteriorate a person's mental strength by poisoning the mind with the vengeance and the centuries of suffering the souls of the sorcerers were put through after their death. Unaccustomed to traveling by the path of the stars, many travelers eventually have their minds shaved away to the point where they can't tell where they're going anymore and stray from their path. Those who do know how to travel by using stars as their guides aren't aware of the dangers of being in this field and without even realizing it, their minds also decay to the point where they'll end up just as lost and confused as anyone else. Luckily, –"

"So our life is being drained here as we speak?" Jenna interrupted. "Then what're we just standing here for! Come on! Let's move it!" she ordered with an angry look on her face. The three made haste towards the origin of the blinding light that could not have been much further up ahead from where they were – especially as the pace they were now forced to move at. "How did you know all that anyways, Felix?" Jenna asked without turning to her brother. A look of pain fell upon Felix's face as he recalled his painful past and the extreme anxiety and irritation he had to deal with as he learned of this deadly field in a slow and torturous process, a past he never wanted to bring back to light, the day he wanted to banish from his memories along with those unbearable feelings he felt forever. With great sadness, he let out a sigh, "Kraden….talks too much."

His two companions felt a similar tinge of depression that tugged at their hearts when they recalled their own experiences during their studies with Kraden before their whole journey began. More words spewed out of his mouth daily than the entire population of Vale. On the receiving end of those endless utterances were Isaac, Garet, and Jenna, all lost and confused and eventually focused their entire concentration on staying awake and letting those seemingly meaningless words slip past their ears unnoticed. "He'd be a better teacher if he would just get to the point…" Jenna pointed out. The others simply nodded in agreement, not wanting to speak further on the subject.

"But to think that a place like this could've come back to life because Alchemy's been unleashed," Garet spoke up trying to change the subject, "kind of makes you wonder what other things could've happened throughout Weyard."

"Maybe the misuse of Alchemy wasn't the only threat when it was sealed away," Jenna added, "who knows? Maybe we also set free a lot of things that pose great dangers to people like this grass field without realizing it."

Felix decided to interrupt them, "We'll worry about that later. First thing's first. We must find Isaac and put a stop to him. As far as I'm concerned, a person who wrecks on one town after another is far more dangerous than some grass field," he said gritting his teeth. Images of his nightmares against a battle with Isaac flashed through his mind. "I don't know how we're going to deal with him, but if it comes down to it, we'll just…have to take him out just as we did anyone else who posed a threat to the world," he warned them with a threatening tone in his voice that was actually intended for Isaac.

Jenna and Garet wanted to protest, but knowing Felix and his sense of justice that comes before his own personal affairs, they knew he was right; they didn't have any other choice. "You think Isaac knows about this place though?" Jenna suddenly asked. "He could be in danger himself if he just wanders through this kind of place. W-what if…" her voice trailed off.

"What're you saying, Jenna?" Garet asked, "You think Isaac would really die in a place like this? Not in a million years!"

Jenna remained silent and dropped her head a little, looking towards the ground as she walked thinking of the possibilities that could happen to a person traveling alone and who may have been mentally unstable to begin with. Felix nodded his head, "That's not what she meant, Garet. We all know something like this is no threat to Isaac, especially when we consider his surprising boost in psynergy that seem to stem out of nowhere."

"Then what did she mean?" Garet asked. "You think he'd take a nap here and shorten his life span or something?" He rubbed his head in confusion.

"No, Garet. She meant the grass may be drawing out a darker side of him. Don't forget, this place is actually the burial ground of the thirteen sorcerers who died here and their vengeful spirits were assimilated into the ground and fed to the grass. I don't know what's going on with Isaac, but they could very well make him more unstable than he already is, making it even more impossible for our voices to reach him."

The three fell silent, lost in their own thoughts of how a confrontation with their friend would result. "_Just what the hell happened to Isaac?"_ Felix asked himself as he continued to lead the group towards the place where the existence known as "fate" had been removed from.

* * *

Well what can I say? I'm a lazy bum P

Just in case a chapter 4 never arrives (thinks back to his poor "choice" which never made it to chapter 3), pretend there's a "The End" message here okay?


	4. Drifting

Omfg ur pennameless partpartpartpart-time fanfic author updated in like…less than a week!

What a turn of events! ….this could be a bad omen…;;

Just…ignore the typos and grammar…I don't proofread P

**Chapter 4: Drifting**

_I'm again surrounded in darkness. I think I'm floating through that crowded emptiness called "memories", sailing through its endless wonders on a river of thoughts. As I flow towards the further end of the river, I sink deeper and deeper as my memories fade. My journey comes to an end when I could remember no further back into my past and I sink all the way down, past the world of memories and into the lower and darker world of my unconsciousness. At this point, I can't recollect anything. The only thing I'm capable of is perception and the realization of my own existence without a physical body. It's like I'm merely an existence that has neither a past nor identity. _

_"Come," a deep voice beckons to me._

_If I had eyes, I'd look around. "Where?" I ask. "Who are you?" I realize my own voice is omnipresent, as if I myself am the "God" of this dark realm void of any physical existence – except unlike a real deity, I don't seem to know anything._

_Personally, I don't even know where "I" currently am, but I rather not tell that to whoever this other voice is. Like a mindless puppet, I "walk" over to the source of the voice and find a sharp object embedded on something that I can not describe. No matter how hard I look at it, I can't make sense of its shape or color, and yet it is right there in front of me. "So, what is it you want from me?" I ask. My mind is still blank and I can't even comprehend what I'm doing. Thankfully, the voice guides me and tells me, "Remove the sword."_

_Remove the sword? What's a sword? I assume it to be the object that stands before me. With my nonexistent arms, I reach out and grab the equally nonexistent "sword" as the voice called it and pull it out. Before I know it, more darkness flies out and sends me on yet another mind trip. "Hey, I'm being swept away," I say analytically and emotionlessly. _

_"Damn, what was that?" _Isaac wondered. Whatever it was he did, it sent him back on a trip to reality. _"This place is starting to worry me. My mind hasn't felt so worn out since the time I sailed around the world looking for Felix and Jenna. I really need to hurry –" _

His thoughts came to a halt when he grabbed his sword and noticed the feel of it was different. He felt some kind of resistance from the holy blade of legends. "What's wrong, Excalibur?" Isaac asked feeling disheartened. _"Is Excalibur trying to reject me? It seems as if it's writhing in pain…"_

Slowly, he stood up and held his sword in front of him and clumsily swung it around testing the feel of it. "That's funny," he blinked in confusion, "I feel like I'm holding a dead sword…"

He swung it around a couple more times, each time harder and quicker than the last and with increasingly fluid motions. _"Is this even Excalibur?"_ he wondered. _"It has to be…I'm only carrying a few swords with me and the others look nothing like it."_ he told himself and shifted his gaze to just above his right shoulder where he saw the hilts of two other blades and then down to his waist where his last one resided. "…Whatever, everything will be fine eventually I guess," he shrugged without worrying too much. "It's not like there's any real threat around here or anything."

Due to his mental stress and weariness, he sluggishly wandered off towards the cave just ahead that leads to Imil, without noticing the massive amount of psynergy that leaked from him into the ground.

* * *

Felix and his companions were still a short way behind their target, continuing to track down the source of the intense light that they saw from so far away. The grasses they were traveling through were successively greater and greater in height as they approached the heart of the field. By now, they were all just short of two feet tall, making them a bit of an inconvenience to walk on. _"Even I'm starting to get tired of this place," _Felix began to think to himself when his sister coincidentally interrupted.

"Felix, look!" Jenna jumped in surprise pointing to a group of people off in the distance. She poked her head forward and squint her eyes to get a better look at them, "Hmm…I think they're resting."

"Y-you don't think…their souls are being eaten, do you?" Garet asked nervously looking around for anything suspicious. Ignoring him, Jenna turned to her brother, "Isn't that –?"

Felix nodded with a serious look on his face, "I'm sure of it." Then silently, he walked towards the unfamiliar group to get a better look at the situation with Jenna and Garet following closely behind. "This is where the flash of light originated from. Just look around," he told the others as they drew closer and closer to where fate does not reach. Aside from the huge mess of dirt and blades of grass all over the place, there was a miniature crater and in the center of it was a sharp puncture that went into the earth. "The explosion must've originated from here," Felix said as he bent down to inspect the puncture, slightly tracing his fingertips along the edges, "I wonder if Isaac attacked these people too_…_"

"But this is Isaac we're talking about…he wouldn't just attack innocent people, would he?" Garet asked, "I…still find it hard to believe," he told them sadly.

Jenna lightly bit her lips and turned her back to the group to hide her sadness. She remained silent, but if anyone saw her face, the pain would've been obvious in her eyes. Felix, too, kept his face hidden in the dark as he crouched, "None of us wants to think that, Garet. I…still want to believe in him."

His last words shone light on his two companions as they lifted their faces and turned towards him. _"I want to believe in him until the very end against all odds…just as he did for me," _he told himself as he recalled back to the time when Isaac entrusted the Mars Star to him despite the huge misunderstanding and the three years they spent apart. _"He may have had no other choice, but he's not the kind of person who would hand over something so important to save his own life."_

"We'll just have to bring him back in one piece, then!" Garet told the others, "Right, Felix?" Felix turned his head to him and nodded with a smile, "Yeah. We'd be in a lot of trouble with Kyle and Dora if we don't." The three of them smiled at each other for a while – something they haven't done for quite some time, until they were interrupted by a groan. It came from a young man whose face showed no signs of cuts or bruises, but only a trickle of blood that went from his lips to his chin.

Jenna quickly ran to his side and bent down to cast a healing spell that warmed his body and soul, relieving him of the discomfort he felt in his body, but more importantly it helped to revitalize his mind. "Hey, are you feeling better now?" she asked keeping her soft hands that glowed red close to his chest.

He gently placed his own hand over hers and held it, smiling at her, enchanted by her seemingly gentle kindness, her warmth that she shared with him through her psynergy, her silky auburn hair that flowed like water in the wind, and her deep worrisome eyes that approached his own as he gradually bent forward and reached for her lips, "Indeed, for I –"

His speech was cut short by a fist that sent his face burying into the ground. Above his limp and motionless body was Felix with a harsh frown on his face as he looked down at the older warrior disapprovingly, "What a jerk."

Jenna on the other hand was not satisfied, "Just what did he take me for?" she asked angrily, "Did he think I was **that** kind of girl!"

_"I knew it…she's throwing another tantrum. But it's strange…she's been doing that more than usual lately. Is this more of Alchemy's doing? Or is it something else?" _Felix wondered.

* * *

Isaac, whose mind was in a total state of confusion just minutes ago, was slowly regaining his senses. He finally exited that endless field that he never wants to go near again, but now only to find himself in front of a cave. The entrance was rather unappealing to his taste, but more than exquisite to his overburdened mind. It lured him with its finely woven threads of spider webs and fly carcasses dangling on them that no human craftsmanship can hope to match. Its borders were decorated by a thick coat too rich in moss to appreciate in the slightest of ways; its walls had a seductive glistening wetness that screams of humidity and hot air, inviting him into the inescapable world of sweat.

He stared in awe, taking in the incredibly ugly scenery he was in, "I've never seen anything like it," he said dreamily as he stumbled towards the entrance with his arms flinging about, "is it just me or have you gotten more beautiful since we last met?"

"Is that really him?" a man clad in heavy armors hidden behind some tall bushes asked his two traveling companions, "he…seems like a retard," he said in confusion as he watch Isaac trying hug the moist walls of the cave.

"I will never forget the face of the one who humiliated and deprived me of my title as champion that day, Azart," answered one of the companions.

The third one, dressed in the same heavy armor that covered him from head to toe snickered, "Hmph, if it weren't for him, I would've been the one to defeat you for the title of champion, Navampa."

His bluff was met by a dismissive grunt, "Enough trash talk, Satrage. This is our opportunity to get our revenge. His little friends aren't here to help him this time and it looks like someone's already beaten him over the head," he told the others as Isaac continued praising the extreme ugliness of the cave with endless mispronounced words of beauty in its many forms.

The three of them leapt out from the bushes completely out of sync and landed just three or four meters behind Isaac. Navampa pointed a finger at him, "So, we meet again!" he yelled. "This time, revenge **will** be ours!"

Satrage nodded his head in agreement, "Indeed. You see, the three of us have been practicing hard at that those little tricks you used to defeat us."

"Using the power of Alchemy when we fought solely with our strength was rather low of you, even if you were just a runt," Azart added.

"But now that we've learned our own spells, your little tricks won't work on us anymore!" Navampa pointed out arrogantly, "Not to mention your little friends aren't here to help you anymore. We lost the coliseum because you cheated and we only lost last time as well because we were outnumbered four to three and you continued to use your little tricks on us. Well not this time."

The three oversized gladiators drew their mighty broad swords out and chuckled at the pathetic mess before them. "Well? You got any last words?" Azart asked, "Or are you just going to keep daydreaming all day?"

Isaac felt something in his mind being to stir as he replayed the threats that sounded like music to his ears over and over again in his head, reveling in their sweet words of vengeance, jealousy, and hate. He felt like he was a whole new person as he continued to enjoy the angry and disgusting atmosphere around him. He cocked an evil grin at the thought of battle and fulfilling his reawakened lust for bloodshed – any blood, be it his or his "preys."

"Heh, " he chuckled at the three standing before him in their oversized suits of armor, "revenge? Only weaklings who lost what little pride they had seek revenge." His words were not very well received by the three gladiators who became even more enraged.

"Wealkings!" Satrage yelled furiously, "Don't let a victory or two go to your head. Runts like you need to be shown their place!"

Isaac merely gave off another wicked laugh and grinned excitingly, "Fine. I'll let you all die by my blade," he told them as he drew out his Excalibur. "Come!"

As the three charged towards him with their swords in hand and gave off fierce battle cries that they're accustomed to, Isaac felt his blood getting more and more excited, flowing through his veins stronger and faster with each step they took towards him. When his opponents began to cast a wide array of support spells, boosting their strength, speed, and vigor, his mind began to stir again. Though everything became fuzzy to him at that instant as they swung their weapons at him, he felt no fear, but only anticipation of blood. Tightening the grip of the hilt of his blade, he prepared to let out all the anger and frustration he had built up for the past months and cast aside his hesitation once and for all. Then, as if awoken from an enchanted dream, his vision became clear; his body became in sync with his mind, and by the guiding of his most basic instincts, he swiftly shredded their weapons and armors into pieces with a series of unseen cuts.

_It was amazing. I've never felt anything like this before. My body felt sensational, it was the excitement of experiencing something big for the first time, like there was suddenly a new path lain in front of me, inviting me to explore it's uncharted wonders. I turned to the gladiators, bare of clothing and weapons, defiling the ugly ground of the cave entrance with their far more disgusting rears. My azure blue eyes glowing reddish with excitement and bloodlust looked into their whimpering and terror-stricken ones, silently asking for forgiveness and to take their pride in exchange for their lives. It was clear to me they're no longer able to speak. The paralyzing fear, the approaching footsteps of death, the difficulty of breathing, the silent cries they're unable to utter, Those alone made sparing their lives temporarily worthwhile. But now it's over. _

_"I don't know or care who you are," I told them, "but if you cross my path, I'll kill you." It was all true. Before I could not see through those tin buckets they wore on their heads called helmets, but now, even in their bareness, their faces were those of strangers. When I warned them of their deaths, their eyes cried out silently again, only this time – louder. I chuckled at how shameful they were. It's mind boggling how men shaped by pride and honor all their lives would so easily abandon those values and cling on to hopes of leading a shameful life rather than to die in a blaze of glory._

_I raised Excalibur in to the air, tapping into its true strength, and covering the land in its majestic light. "Howl, Excalibur," I commanded. It was over…_

_

* * *

_…….okay I'm hungry now…XD

* * *


	5. A Wake Into Death

Eh…heh heh….been a while since i updated, huh? xD

**Chapter 5: ****A Wake Into Death**

"What should we do with them?" Jenna asked as she stared at the sleeping travelers, "We can't just sit around here forever or we'll all end up dead." She paused for a minute to take a closer inspection, "but it's strange though, isn't it? They seem in perfectly good health even though they've probably been in this field for some time now."

Felix nodded in agreement, "Yeah, something weird is going on. It could be a result of all the grasses that were here having been blown away. But at least we can leave without having to worry about them. They'll be fine, plus," he pointed to a mini-caravan, "these travelers are well prepared."

"Yeah, we have to find Isaac, right?" Garet added, "We don't have time to be helping everyone home."

Felix drew his favorite sword: the Sol Blade, "But first, there's something we have to take care of," he told the others. Jenna and Garet looked at him in confusion. "Like what?" Garet asked worriedly, "w-what're you doing, Felix?"

"Isaac didn't attack these people," Felix told them and pointed in the far distance with the tip of his sword, "it was them." They looked over at where he was pointing through squinted eyes; "Those are…," Jenna began, but was interrupted by Garet who jumped, "They're wolves! ….but…they look like they're victims too, don't they?"

Felix just continued walking, "_Just shut up, Garet"_ he thought to himself and raised his sword and whispered, "Howl, Sol blade." The sword cried out with a gust of warm wind fast enough to be heard and blowing into every direction, eventually reaching into the skies. The clouds swirled outwards from the gust, leaving the huge dark emptiness of the night exposed in the center that formed the gates to the heavens, where a red meteor in its majestic glory descended. It obviously reeked of power from the mere sight of it, for it was proudly wrapped by the atmosphere in a thick coat of flames that almost seemed to incinerate itself while bits of it scattered in the sky and caused a rain of pyroclastic debris.

"Um, Felix?" Jenna clutched her chest and called out to him with a little bit of fear in her voice, "Isn't that overdoing it a little?" Felix however didn't respond and just stood there as he watched the meteorite smash into the ground in the distance with a powerful explosion, incinerating everything near it and burning a small crater into Weyard. "_She's right. If Isaac hadn't done whatever he did earlier and blown away all the grass, the fire from my 'Megiddo' could've started a wild fire,"_ he regretfully thought to himself, "_I don't like this place, it seems to be affecting our mentality or something."_

"Sorry, Jenna, I didn't mean to worry you." Felix turned to look her in the eyes, "…I guess I just got used to it." Jenna inhaled deeply and sighed, "Well at least it saved us some walking I guess," she finally smiled at her brother, "Let's just go, okay?"

* * *

Isaac laid before the cave entrance in defeat. He was beaten and bleeding in several areas of his body. His clothes were torn and ripped from the assault. Most of the bruises and wounds had healed however with a little help of his psynergies. "Heh, I never thought it'd hurt this badly," he chuckled before coughing up some blood. Those colossus warriors were indeed a powerful force when they were actually able to land their fists against him. Those huge bulky muscles, the powerful scream of rage, and their desire to save their pride as champions – alone each meant little, but as a single entity, they resulted in nothing short of a blossoming display of incredible power that stemmed from mere saplings. "But why…? Why did you not awaken?" he asked Excalibur. 

Out of curiosity, he shook his sword around thinking perhaps it would wake despite knowing it was a pretty lame idea. "Hello? Excalibur?" Isaac asked wondering why he's trying to talk to his sword while knowing well that it would surprise him even more if Excalibur actually responded. "_This is no use…If it won't respond to me, it's nothing more than a well forged blade made out of orihalcon," _he thought to himself_. "What good is that? I'd be killed if I had to fight with a dead sword."_

After another several seconds of increasingly violent shaking, Isaac was starting to get worried and frustrated. "C'mon, howl! Howl, damn it!" he screamed at the top of his lungs to the point where he felt like his throat was going to rip apart. "Do something at least, you -!" A deep and thunderous roar interrupted him from deep within the caves. It sounded to him like it was from some kind of huge muscular monster that would've made an ogre look miniscule. "Oh man, don't tell me I woke him up with all my screaming," he thought as he looked menacingly at his sword and lets out a sigh. "I'll…just let you sleep for a while…so if you would just let me know you're still as alive as any magical sword can be sometime soon, I'll be a happy man."

Quickly, he scrambled to his feet and fixed his clothes as much as he could to avoid looking like some kind of thug who's been living on the streets for the past couple years. When he was done tidying up, he took hold of his sword and sheathed it away on his back. "Damn, if there's a huge beast in there, I'm going to have some problems getting through. If only I still had that cloak ball with me…but no, Jenna wanted it. No wait, she 'really really' wanted it" he muttered remembering back to when she gave him a really sweet and innocent smile as she pleaded for ball. Now that he thought about it, he didn't really get to keep any relics they discovered during their journey. He didn't get the teleport lapis that he wanted, or rather, the teleport lapis that he 'really really' wanted either just because Picard 'really really' needed it. Then he was deprived of the halt gem and the burst brooch because Ivan and Garet had first dibs on those. The only thing he got to keep was the lame old catch beads his mother gave him and that was only because his friends thought it was his most precious treasure since it was from his mother.

"_Oh forget it. I'll worry about it when I have to. Might not even run into it anyways," _he thought crossing his arms with a slight frown on his face. "The worst that can happen is I'll die…" And with that, he unfolded his arms and walked into the cave hoping this was an act of courage and bravery rather than one of utter random stupidity.

Isaac had been walking around in the dimly light cave for just over half an hour. He could hear the deep and monstrous noise getting closer and closer as he made his way towards the exit, confirming that whatever the monster is, it was indeed blocking his path towards Imil. "Well…maybe it's just a big harmless monster that woke up on the wrong side of the bed," he encouraged himself. He felt slightly ashamed that he would be worried about some monster residing inside a cave after having fought against foes like those from the Mars Clan, or those mighty dragons soaring in the sky, or the great leviathans of the sea, or the earth-shaking golems born from the planet itself If situations really got out of hand though, he knew he could always bail himself out with psynergy, but lately, that was something he really preferred not to rely on. Because of that, he had come to heavily rely and improve on his swordsmanship and techniques as well as training to become more dexterous and nimble – fully aware that brute force alone is no threat. However, with Excalibur in its present state, this had become somewhat problematic for him. All he could do at this point was hope that his skills would suffice in a one-on-one fight against some grossly huge monster.

As he reached near the exit, he could hear the loud breathing of whatever creature rested up ahead. "_What kind of brainless monster makes a nest right at an exit?"_ he wondered incredulously. Slowly, he crept against a wall and pressed his back against it as he reached the corner and bent his head slightly forward to take a quick glance. To his surprise, there didn't seem to be anything there. His heart started to race. It was the fact that he knew it was so close yet hidden that worried him even more. "_Where is it?"_ he mentally asked himself being careful not to make sound.

After several more seconds that of heavy anxiety, he decided he'd rather boldly deal with the monster rather than the pressure of making it through the cave alive. As he stepped out towards the exit, he was frantically reassuring himself that if anything goes wrong, he can always just cast a simple cure on himself and make a run for it, since there was no way an overgrown monster would be able to outrun him. Most of them in his experience have been rather slow and rely on nothing more than brute force – though there were exceptions.

Just as a precaution, he gathered up a little psynergy around his hand to prepare himself for whatever may happen knowing full well that a split second's difference can determine whether he lives through this or not. As psynergy gathered up in his hand, his heart suddenly gave a loud thump before coming to a halt. There was a screaming pain in his chest and it felt as though there was something there, something burning him up from the inside out and it had chose his heart as the sacrifice to make itself known to him. He felt overcome by another presence as the pain spewed forth so rapidly like water popping out of a balloon and before he knew it, he felt his consciousness being pushed against the corners of his mind and thought he heard his Excalibur calling out to him. As he neared his mental limits, a bright flash of light suddenly brought it all to an end and he slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring into an enormous pair of vengeful eyes.

His life began to flash by his eyes. The vision of his friends' laughter, his dreams of reaching into the skies one day and exploring a world beyond, the night of his childhood where he stargazed with Jenna and Felix over a bridge, and his last decision to waltz into a cave like this unprepared thinking it was an act of courage and bravery but turned out to be one out of stupidity. Isaac breathed his last as a humongous jaw baring sharp lethal fangs wet with saliva clamped down and devoured him.


	6. A Grim Apperance

A Grim Appearance

Bet you didn't expect this to be updated. What can I say? I was bored.

**Chapter 6: A Grim Appearance**

_It was a very painful feeling – not painful in the sense of a sword wound or a crushing blow to the body. Rather, my heart ached and I felt a loneliness and solitude that spanned countless millennia. Such painful feelings that would quickly erode even the strongest of minds and the greatest of heroes and giving birth to hatred deeper than anyone could possibly imagine. I know this couldn't have been my feelings for it was far too ancient and far too cursed to be human. It could only belong to the shadow of a figure who once again stood before me in a world shrouded in darkness. Somehow it was as though the two of us were connected on a spiritual level and I could feel its desire for vengeance._

"_I never wanted to visit you again" I told the shadow through agonizing thoughts alone. "Is this hell or something? I do somehow remember being turned into lunch."_

"_I will not permit your death so soon," it whispered back. Its crimson red eyes glowed faintly. "You still have a role to fulfill."_

"_Role?" I questioned. I thought my role was over with the release on the seal of alchemy. Life was suppose to be good again and everyone would work together to rebuild Vale. That was all I asked after risking my life so many times trying to fulfill some divine role bestowed upon me by a floating piece of rock everyone refers to as the Wise One. _

"_It is time –"_

The voice was cut short as Isaac's eye opened to see Felix bearing the Sol blade burning bright. His three childhood friends had gathered and by their legs were dismembered parts of the giant beast Isaac thought had devoured him. He found himself lying down on the floor covered in a sticky fluid giving off a foul stench. Though weak and immobile, he managed to get a glimpse of what seemed to be an orange crystal egg behind him.

"_Heh…so that's it_. _I was converted into stored food. I'm not sure whether I should consider myself lucky to be alive or not."_

"F-Felix…" Isaac muttered with whatever little energy he had left. Quickly Jenna and Garet rushed over to his side while Felix simply gazed at him with cold eyes.

"Isaac! Are you alright?" Jenna asked in a panic, "What were you doing here? We went through so much trouble just to find you!"

'_Jenna…she's the one person I didn't want to have to see again. I thought I've decided. _

_I've decided with firm resolution that I would abandon everything for my goals. Yet when I see her here resting my head on her lap with tears streaming down her reddened eyes, I feel powerless to even lift a finger. Gentle tears would stream down her soft cheeks and fall on my wearied face as a torrent that would wash away my hatred and scorn. Purified and cleansed, her tears would pave to way for my humanly desires and faith to be restored. A dangerous situation to be in and one I knew I would not be able to resist if I were to give in to her now. '_

Isaac knew there was only one way out of his – Garet. Known for his lack of thoughts and recklessness, he would surely interrupt Jenna's little moment of weakness and relief. Yet even so, it would not be of much comfort as Garet was another vitally important person in Isaac's life.

'_Well isn't this nice. I'm stuck between a friend whom I left on a journey to save and another friend who had been with me since our journeys began.'_

"Hey, Isaac, can you hear me? C'mon, get a grip," Garet said. "People are spreading rumors that you've gone crazy, but that's just a big misunderstanding right, buddy? There's no way you'd do something like going around destroying stuff."

'_Again with their ridiculous expectations. I'm not a saint and I don't want to be one. I'm sick of their heroes nonsense.'_

Isaac closed his eyes for a moment to take a deep breath before using what little strength he had left to get up. Barely able to keep his balance, he leans over on Garet and talks into his ears, "Sorry to disappoint you," he lets out a cough, "but sometimes rumors are true."

Garet's eyes went wide with shock, "Isaac, you – you can't be serious!"

"Just who do you think I am, Garet? Some fool who would spend the rest of his life solving everyone's problems just because they label him a hero? No. I have better things to do."

"And just what do you mean by 'better things'?" Felix asked from behind still with his legendary Sol blade drawn. "Isaac," he paused for a minute, "depending on your answer, I may have to stop you." Though he sounded cold and unwavering, his heart was shaking, fearful of the thought of having to fight against his best friend. Silently within his own heart he was praying for the best.

"I knew it had to happen sometime," Isaac chuckled, "I just didn't think it would be this soon." The two stared at each other without words, but mutually understood the pain they both shared. With sad eyes, Isaac gave his friend one last gentle smile. When he finally put his hand on the hilt of his sword and ready to draw, Felix knew it was going to be a day he would have nightmares about forever. With a sharp glare, he gave his friend one last warning, "Don't do this, Isaac!"

Immediately as it on instincts, Jenna tightly held onto Isaac's right arm in a desperate attempt to stop him, "No! Please, stop this! If you two were to fight, I – I wouldn't…I wouldn't know what to do!" she screamed in tears. Her entire body was shaking and her eyes were cast down as if she didn't want to accept the reality that was shaping before her.

"Jenna…" Garet looked on knowing full well how she felt. He was going through the exact same dilemma himself. A fight between his two of his dearest friends couldn't end well no matter what happened.

"Get out of the way, Jenna," Felix said as he got into his battle stance, "there's no avoiding it now. I…I have to do this!" His Sol blade started to emit a glow when Isaac quickly drew out his Excalibur.

"Stop!!" Jenna let out one last desperate scream.

It happened all in an instant. No one had ever expected what followed. A divine light emitted from Excalibur causing it to glow like never before, as if the sword had finally awaken from its slumber. Yet it was this very light that caused Isaac tremendous pain. The beautiful light which enveloped him didn't put a scratch on his body, but had set his very soul aflame. Hands unworthy of the sacred sword were destined to be purified, yet the vast darkness within him was so overwhelming that it would not succumb to the light. Without an ounce of energy left inside him and his soul suffering so greatly, Isaac collapsed once more into the welcoming arms of his friends with a smile. The last thing he could hear was their voices calling out to him.

'_Thank…god…'_ were his last thoughts as he let go of his treasured sword.

* * *

The night had fallen had stars illuminated the sky. Felix was leading the group as usual while carrying his friend Isaac on his back. They had been silent for a while as they made the way back through the unholy grass field. None of them could understand what had happened. There were so many questions they wanted answers to, but no one to ask.

Jenna finally broke the silence, "Hey, you guys think Kraden would be able to tell us anything?" She knew deep down the chances were slim.

"I doubt he'll know much," Felix replied without looking back at her, "Kraden is a scholar of alchemy, not swords or people."

"Oh…I see."

"But," Felix continued, "it would be a good place to start I suppose."

"Can't we just get Ivan to dig into his head and tell us?" Garet suggested. "I mean he can read minds right?"

"Ivan won't agree to something like that. Neither would I." Felix said.

"But this is important!" Garet retorted, "Isaac could be holding some huge secret none of us know about! Maybe it's the reason –" He stopped when he felt a hand gently placed on his shoulder. "Jenna, but don't you wanna to know?"

"Of course I do."

"Then why –"

"Because I want to hear it from Isaac," she quickly cut him off. "The four of us have been through so much together. Even before I thought I had lost my brother, Isaac and I had been friends and even more so afterwards. Then we all survived through so much and journeyed around the world together. I just can't accept Ivan's mind reading as being the only way…I want him to tell us about this himself."

Unlike Jenna and Felix, Garet didn't know Isaac very well until the incident when the boulder tore Jenna's family apart. However, he knew he was just as much part of the group as anyone else. Still, he couldn't wait. He just wasn't used to taking advice from anyone other than Isaac. There was some quality to him that Garet felt he could just trust without ever having to look back. "Jenna, I know what you mean, but if we wait too long, we might never be able to fix the problem anymore."

"Then we'll just have to force it out of him. One way or another, I also want it directly from his mouth," Felix interrupted.

"How's forcing it out of him any better?" Garet snapped.

Felix shrugged, "Who knows? It'll just make me feel better."

"Oh fine. Whatever. Just don't blame me when everything goes wrong." Garet said crossing his arms in discontent.

"We never blame you, Garet – for anything." Jenna smiled and patted him on the back. "Anyways, should we take a break here?" she stopped and looked to her brother, "it's getting kinda late. You must be tired from carrying him all this way." Felix nodded.

"Okay. We'll rest here until daybreak."

"Man, if only we got the teleport lapis instead of Picard, we could just teleport back to Vale." Garet said suddenly. Jenna looked over to him.

"But how would he get home without it?"

"He got the ship, didn't he?"

"It's still dangerous to navigate those waters and you can't really sail a ship like that by yourself."

"But he's a water adept. We could've just sent him swimming back and I'm sure he'll be fine. Water adepts can't drown, can they?"

"You mean like how you won't turn into charcoal if I lit you on fire?" Jenna asked as swirls of fire began to gather around her finger tips, "Wanna test that theory?" she asked with a friendly smile.

"Jenna!" Felix quickly interrupted, "stop it already. You'll get us all burned if you play with fire here."

That was when a sinister voice that ranged out, "Heheheheh….that would be a good idea, wouldn't it?" Immediately the drew their weapons and examined their surroundings.

"Who's there?" Felix yelled. Behind him, Isaac's body began to exude a dark fiery gas, which caught everyone's attention.

"I'm right here," the voice answered.

"W-what's going on?" Garet wondered aloud. "What're you doing to Isaac?! Leave him alone!"

An evil aura began to form around Isaac and slowly lifted into the air alongside the gas. They hovered about ten meters over his body forming a circle of what looked like black fire being blown in the wind. Isaac who had been unconscious this whole time began to groan in unbearable pain as he felt his soul being ripped apart. "Ah….ugh!! aaahhh!!" he screamed while still unconscious.

Jenna ran over and knelt down beside him. "Isaac! I…I don't know what to do!" she admitted painfully feeling so helpless in this situation. She tried to place her hand over his chest when she felt a burning and wicked sensation causing her to yank her hand back. "Yeow! What in the world is this black stuff?"

"Jenna! Get back!" Felix yelled, "It's dangerous there!" He quickly ran over to her side, grabbed her by the waist, and leapt away despite her protest, "We can't afford to lose you here too!" He took another glance at the dark circle of energy that was forming. "Damn. How am I supposed to stop this? I can almost feel it…another presence getting stronger inside it. It's almost as if…something's about to come out of it," he whispered to himself as he felt a sweat of fear running down the side of his face.

"It's too late to stop me now," the voice came through as the center of the circle glowed a deep crimson red. It was the eyes of a being that knew nothing but death. "The conditions had all been satisfied. I am finally free….mwahahahaha…" it chuckled as it slowly came through the dark circle which had actually been a gate.

Felix glared into those eyes and felt shivers down his spine. Behind him, Garet and Jenna had already fallen on their knees in sheer terror. He couldn't blame them. The eyes alone were so filled with rage and hatred, but the being itself reeked of a sheer overwhelming deathly aura that seemed to suck the very life out of those within its proximity. "W-w-what….what in the world are you?" he stuttered.

"Me? Hehehe….humans know me as Charon," it answered as it finally entered the world of Weyard once again.

"C-C-Charon?! But how?!" Felix asked in disbelief as he too fell.

"Hehehehe…I really have to give my gratitude to your friend here and of course, the Wise One who made it all possible."

"The Wise One?!" the three screamed together.


	7. Search's End

Well with the news of golden sun ds, my inspiration to finish this has been renewed. For once, I can confidently say, 'expect further chapters to come.'

Chapter 7: Search's End

Charon, one of the underworld beings that had been sealed alongside Alchemy, had finally been set free once more. An immortal deity that holds the power of death itself - one of the highest levels of psynergy unattainable by mortal hands. "The Wise One was a fool. It knew well what the release of the seal on Alchemy would imply," it said.

Felix and the others were shocked with fear as they gazed at the large figure before them. They had slain countless undeads before, overcome great dragons and giants, forged bonds with great summoned beasts and defeated majestic creatures of unfathomable strengths. However, this being that loomed before them was something far greater: it was a god from the underworld.

"You were sealed?" Felix inquired with great hesitation and felt a sweat drip down his cheek, "What do you mean?!" He had never once felt so powerless when facing down an enemy before. The difference between gods and mortals were as clear to him as it was to anyone else. Suddenly he felt a slight tug on his back and turned to see his sister clutching onto him.

"Felix? Do you think it's for real?" she asked.

Felix was certain that the chills and deathly aura that reeked from the ghastly entity before them was real. The horror he felt could not have stemmed from anything less than what the being claimed itself to be. He nodded without turning his gaze away from Charon's crimson red eyes, "Yes, Jenna. I can feel it."

Garet walked up next to the siblings a little confused, "Wait a minute, you can't be serious. You actually believe that this robed freak here is a god?"

"Can't you feel it?" Felix turned to reply, "this is not any normal psynergy that's swirling around him."

"I know that. It's a combination, right? It's...," Garet's voice trailed off as he was stumped, "Um…Mars and Venus?"

"It's a mixture of all four elements, Garet," Felix answered. "Nothing on Weyard other than the Wise One could possess psynergy like this. I don't know if this is a god or not, but it's definitely dangerous."

"What are we gonna do? This creepy thing gives me the chills" Jenna whispered to her brother as her gaze drifted over to Isaac who had apparently awakened and was struggling to stand on his feet. Before she could say anything else, Charon replies to Felix with a sinister laugh.

"Those bound so closely to death have no need for answers. Prepare yourselves, humans," Charon warned, "for Weyard shall slowly be consumed in hell's agony." With that said, he gazed at those standing before him and savored the fear and confusion that surrounded them before he vanished into the darkness. Briefly afterwards, the wind started to calm and the sky began to clear. The great darkness has disappeared and the bright rays once again shine upon the grass of the accursed land.

"What was that suppose to mean?" Jenna pondered.

"I don't know, Jenna," Felix replied, "I doubt even Kraden would know anything about this. He likely wouldn't have kept a catastrophe like this from us he had known"

"But we have to try," Garet suggested, "We can't just sit around here and let that thing do whatever it wants."

The others nodded in agreement. Quickly they ran over to where Isaac laid. Though they were terrified of what had just happened, all three were glad that their friend had been spared. The chaotic uncontrolled psynergy that once leaked from him was no more. Placing both hands on his forearm and her forehead to his, Jenna could feel the soft warm psynergy that Isaac naturally radiated.

"Isaac," she whispered with a huge sense of relief, "it's faint, but calm. I can feel it."

Garet and Felix sighed in relief as they looked over her shoulders knowing full well what she had meant. At the very least, they may at least be able to bring back their friend.

Though they still had many unanswered questions, there was nothing more they could have done at the moment.

"Shall we head back?" Garet asked clasping a hand to his knee and wiping off some sweat off his face. It had been a long and weary trip, especially at the pace they had been going at and the perils that befell them.

Felix took a moment before shaking his head, "We should set up camp and rest for the night here. We've not the strength to make another trip back tonight and Isaac is in no condition to move," he replied giving a glance over to Isaac. "Still, we do have to go back as soon as we can. If we're truly up against Charon, we'll have to gather together everyone as soon as we can.

"I wonder if this is one of the dangers of alchemy the Wise One warned us about," Garet added, "Couldn't he have warned us beforehand?"

"It doesn't matter," Felix replied. "It wouldn't have stopped me from releasing the seal either way. There's no point in regretting our decisions now. For now, we should just get some rest."

Felix turned to Isaac whose eyes were beginning to open. His skin was slighlyt pale, but he finally looked like he was alive again. His blue eyes that once glistened and told of unrivaled glory, courage, and prestige were now dyed in stress and weariness. When the first things he saw were Jenna's alizarin red eyes staring at him with worry and her hair gently swaying across her face. As he gaze back at her with a curious look of his own inches away, he thought back to the time when Agatio and Karst had beaten him senseless because of one fatal mistake on his part. It wasn't such a bad way to wake up - in the embracing warmth of a friend.

"Isaac," Jenna said with a smile and pressing her palms to his cheeks, "welcome back." It wasn't every day that Isaac gets to see this gentle side of her.

Isaac couldn't help but reply with a smile. Words however, were lost to him, for he knew he would have to leave them again.

Garet suddenly joined in with his usual energetic look and greeted his best friend with a laugh.

"Hey Isaac, how ya feeling?"

"I'm…alright," Isaac replied weakly as he struggled to his feet.

Jenna quickly draped his left arm over her shoulder to provide support, "Woah, Isaac, should you really be standing? Get some rest!"

"Thanks, Jenna" Isaac replied without turning to her, "I'm feeling a lot better." He looked over to where Felix stood eyeing him with a questioning glance.

Felix took a step forward and kept his ever stoic face, "Without any explanation, where do you plan to go off to? Do you really think I'm going to let you go, Isaac?" Slowly, he readies his hand to Sol Blade's hilt.

Jenna was taken by surprise, "Wait Felix! Don't!" she cried, "Isaac's back to his old self now. There's no need to fight anymore…right? Isaac?" she looked to him.

"…Sorry," Isaac replied, "but Felix is right…I have no plans to go back to Vale," he said through sad eyes.

Garet put his hand over Isaac's free shoulder, "What do you mean, Isaac? If you're going somewhere, I'm coming along to," he declared with unyielding trust.

"_I just want to get away from all this,"_ Isaac thought to himself and closed his eyes. "_The urge to get away…these feelings of regret and solitude have nothing to do with Charon…just has Charon has nothing to do with me. Just as Weyard no longer has anything to do with me. Now, I can only find solace in combat…and in others' suffering…Why?_

"I won't let you leave, Isaac," Felix said once more.

"You can't stop me, Felix."

Felix's eyes narrowed as he pondered where Isaac's confidence came from. He was so weak that he could barely stand anymore.

"…I don't really understand what happened, but ever since we unsealed Alchemy, I've felt…different."

"Different?"

"Yeah…I feel an incredible psynergy stirring inside me…almost as though it's trying to burst out. With it, I have no more need for these little trinkets," Isaac said as he dropped his beads to the floor, "…please return these to my mother…and tell her I'm fine." Isaac said as psynergy began to swirl around him. His body slowly began to dissipate when Jenna and Garet tried to hold him down to no avail.

"NOO!! Isaac!!" Jenna screamed desperately as Isaac's arms dispersed into tiny fragments of psynergy and rose into the sky.

"Let's not meet again," Isaac stated coldly.

Felix's eyes widened as he watched Isaac use a teleport spell without any medium to grant him such powers.  
"H-how did you…"

It wasn't long before Isaac completely disappeared without a trace, leaving his friends behind in confusion. "Damn it, Isaac…we needed you, damn it!" Felix exclaimed through clenched teeth.

* * *

"_I feel so liberated. No more will I lift a finger for this world. No longer shall I stand among heroes and lead them into some thoughtless future of peace and properity. It's not my job, damn it."_

_Though I had gain incredible powers from who-knows-where, I still don't have absolute control over them yet. "Just where the heck did I teleport to? It's freezing here! I feel so weak that I can't even more…damn it. If I pass out here like this, I'm not gonna make it…"_

Isaac fell to his knees half buried in snow and began to feel ice filling up his lungs. "If only I knew some fire spells…"

_Alright, no problem. I just need to find some food and shelter, right? I wonder if bears are edible…there's bound to be some wandering around here somewhere._

Isaac blindly clasped his hands towards his waist to make sure he still had Excalibur with him and sighed in relief. "Phew, at least I have something to fend off crazy beasts trying to eat me."

_So what if Excalibur didn't listen to me before? I've been good lately and the big bad guy's left. There's no reason why we can't get along now. I'm sure of it! Confi-WOAH!!_

Isaac had been so caught up in his thoughts he didn't even notice the ferocious bear that had approached him. Dodging a lethal swing of its massive paw by a hair's width, Isaac found himself barely able to move due to hunger and stress. The sudden moment had caused his sights to blur and his mind to sway.

_Ugh...this isn't good. I didn't even notice THIS bear? It's huge! Ah whatever._

"It's time. Howl, Excalibur…ugh…" Isaac grunted and dropped his sword. "_It's heavy…I don't have the strength for this anymore…"_ he thought, "_This just isn't my day, is it?"_

It wasn't before long that the bear stood before him and let out a powerful roar. It too knew the battle was over and that Isaac was to fall prey to it. Without much effort, it stood before Isaac who was on his knees and tore into his chest with one of its paws, causing Isaac to let out a painful scream, lifting his body into the air and flying backwards.

Quickly, the bear charged at Isaac ready with its fangs to rip his head off when it felt its entire body heat up. No more than an instant later had its body burst into flames. Yet, the bear's pain was brief, for no sooner had it realized the burning sensation had it been sliced down perfectly in half. Blood gushed out and dyed the snow beneath red. Without even a chance to let out a final roar, it simply became nothing more than a charred corpse.

Isaac safely landed, cushioned by the snow. He clutched his chest that had been punctured with holes from the bear's claws. Blood had been pouring out since and he was feeling faint. With what little psynergy could he muster in his state, he tried to heal his wounds as best he could, without turning his gaze away from the silhouette figure approaching him. The only thing he could see was the fiery eyes of the figure that saved his life, but it was enough to tell who the person was.

"…Who would've thought I'd find you here…Isaac," came a familiar voice.

"…Karst…"


End file.
